


Between the Raindrops with You

by stardustsroses



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Mating Bond, lucien x elain - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 06:58:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustsroses/pseuds/stardustsroses
Summary: Lucien comes home after a mission to find his mate sleeping in their garden among the summer flowers. fluff ensues. // post-bonding. // based on the song Between the Raindrops by Lifehouse & Natasha Bedingfield.





	Between the Raindrops with You

Elain was dreaming again.

Of sunsets and tan skin, of arms that enveloped her and hands that caressed her, of soft skin and gentle smiles, of eyes – one eye of russet and another of gold – staring at her as if she was the most beautiful blessing the world could offer.

Her skin felt warm, sun-kissed, and in her dreams it was his body pressed against hers that made her feel like that. Like she would never, could never, be cold again. Elain’s mind whispered one word to her, followed by a tingling sensation on her stomach that flooded through her whole body, right to the tip of her toes. She felt herself smile at the face her mind conjured, at the usually cunning eyes that gazed down at her with nothing but love and tenderness and contentment, at the gentle, yet devilish hands that made her whisper his name in the dark, only for him to hear.

The owner of those devilish hands stared down at his mate, her body sprawled on the blue blanket she’d lay on the grass of their garden. The fading sun showed the gold entwined in her light brown curls, it coated her eyelashes and reddened her cheeks the slightest bit.

Or maybe that had been caused by the whispered name that fell from her lips.

A smile tugged at Lucien’s mouth as he watched Elain turn in the blanket, her forgotten book falling from her lap. Her light blue summer dress had bits and pieces of grass attached to it as her hand flung out of the blanket, hand grasping the white flowers as if she were reaching for him. As if she felt him close.

Lucien knew he should pick her up and take her inside to let her rest more comfortable on their bed but, despite the sunset and the dark clouds that loomed ahead, Lucien decided to be a little bit selfish this time and walked to her. Carefully, Lucien lied down on the blanket right next to his mate.

Her scent hit him first. And Lucien wasted no time as he wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling her close until her back touched his chest. He buried his face in her curls gently, breathing in the scent he had missed so much. Good gods. A week apart had made him crave her in ways he never thought possible. More than physical, there was an emotional need for her. His mind – it called out to her, even in her sleep. That tug deep within him pushed and pushed, until the bond between them shone brightly.

Elain felt it stir something inside her. As if her body awakened at the feel of him.

“Dove,” Lucien whispered, his nose still buried in her hair.

Elain opened her eyes slowly, slightly confused with her surroundings, and then-

Lucien.

Lucien.

Elain turned in his arms, her sleepy eyes adjusting to the still-bright sunlight.

She watched his face change as Lucien’s eye searched her own. “Hello, love,” he whispered gently.

Elain blinked. “You’re home,” she said, a lazy, happy smile spreading on her beautiful face. “You’re finally home.”

“I’m home, Elain, love,” Lucien smiled, touching his lips to her forehead. “I missed you.”

Elain took his chin between her two fingers, watching his face. Her mate. Her mate. “Welcome home.”

Her lips touched his for the first time in over a week. And it was paradise. It was like taking a first breath after being underwater for so long. It was like reaching the top of the highest mountain and looking over the most beautiful of sights. Touching him felt like coming home after being away for so long. Feeling his breath against her mouth as he parted his lips to let her in was like reaching out with her hands and touching a piece of heaven above.

Her lips pulled away briefly to look him over. Elain searched his body, his neck, his face, to finally stop at his eye.

“I’m alright, dove.”

“I was so worried,” she told him, hands dropping from his cheeks to trail a path down his chest. “I thought you were coming in two days?” It came out as more of a question. 

Lucien smiled. He took her hand in his, leading her palm to his mouth. Gently, so gently, he traced one of the lines on her palm with his lips, stopping briefly at her wrist. He went back up, letting his lips close around the place between her thumb and forefinger.

He said, “I was supposed to.” His eyes – both his fake and real one – looked up at her. Dark eyelashes fluttered slightly as Elain touched his cheek. “Turns out that I can’t…part with you for so long. Not yet. Not ever, maybe.”

Their bond – it was still fresh between them. Though they’d fallen in love with each other long before Elain accepted him…the moment when Elain had unexpectedly sat him down on the kitchen of the House of Wind and given him a bowl full of homemade cookies hadn’t been that long ago. The moment when she’d sat down on his lap, her fingers tracing the scar forever marking the side of his face…and the moment she’d spoken the words into his breathless mouth, her hand coming to rest on top of his erratic heart. The magic of it, of hearing her say those words, of feeling her lips press so softly against his, of having her hands collect the bowl she’d prepared for him…it hadn’t faded still. And Lucien believed it would remain so for a long, long time.

“I’m glad,” Elain smiled, her thumb caressing his cheek. “It seems that I…fell asleep,” she noticed with a small smile, looking around her.

“It’s colder now,” he murmured, swiftly pulling off his coat and flinging it over her shoulders. “It looks as if it’s about to rain.”

“Hmm,” Elain’s smile grew, but despite his words, neither of them moved.

They watched each other for a long while, until the clouds passed over the setting sun, until the wind bristled against the trees of their backyard.

Their backyard. Their townhouse.

Strange to think how things worked out. How Lucien had willingly let himself create roots in the Night Court, willingly ignoring his true heritage, to be here. With the people he now considered his friends. His family.

“Everything went well?” Elain asked over a whisper, her hand tracing his chin as she searched his face, noticing the little crinkle between his brows, that pensive look about him.

He nodded slowly, “I think it’s safe to say we’re at peace now,” Lucien took her fingers in his hand, and distractedly kissed the tips as he spoke. “Hopefully it will last.”

For how long…they did not know. That question still hovered over them all, but…

But for now – they had this.

“It will last,” Elain said to him gently, angling her face so her nose would be touching his. Lucien smiled at the small gesture, his heart warm, as Elain continued, “For now, I’m just happy you’re finally home.” 

Home.

Where Elain waited for him. Where he waited for Elain.

His mate.

“I noticed.” That fox’s grin, once again. Lucien whispered to her, “It seems you were dreaming about me?”

Elain’s cheeks pinked. “It’s not what you think.”

“Oh?”

She smiled, “I dreamt you were kissing me-“

“Where?”

Elain swatted his arm, playfully shaking her head at him. “My lips, Lucien.”

“Which ones?”

Elain muffled her laughter on the crook of his neck, mumbling something that sounded a lot like, You’re the worst.

But Lucien pulled away and raised her chin to him. His smile turned into something much more tender as he leaned down to whisper against her lips, “I missed you so much, Elain.”

“How much?” She whispered back.

“Too much,” Lucien murmured, gently touching his lips to hers in small, short pecks. “Most nights I felt like I couldn’t stay still. My body, my mind…nothing would let me rest. Being away from you felt like losing a part of myself.”

Elain watched him speak, her smile reflecting his. Yes, it had hurt being separated from him. Hard to imagine how, just a year before, Elain would’ve scoffed at the thought of accepting this mating bond, of being with him-

Lucien hadn’t insisted in any way, shape or form. He’d gotten the hint and left her alone to her own thoughts. He hadn’t forced himself or this bond on her, hadn’t even demanded anything from her. In fact, on the rare occasions where Lucien would join them for the Night Court’s festivities and parties, Elain noticed a certain sadness about him whenever he was around her. He’d lower his head and rarely look her way. Then there were times when Elain spoke to him and he’d look absolutely shocked, other than delighted. And Elain had gotten the sense that maybe, just maybe, Lucien thought himself not worthy at all. She looked at him and saw a male tortured by his own actions - actions which he now regretted and would take back if given the chance.

She knew – she knew Lucien would’ve never hurt her or her sisters. He would never have intentionally hurt Feyre. But in those long, horrid months after the battle, her heart had felt uneasy. She could only think of Greysen and how the human lord had left her feeling like she was worse than nothing. She still remembered the way he’d looked at her – at the pointed ears, the delicate skin, the parted mouth. He had recoiled from her, as if he’d seen past her lips to the sharp teeth beneath.

Lucien had never forced his love onto her.

He’d never been anything but nice and courteous – despite the fact that he was convinced Elain would never return his affections.

She thought she’d never return his affections.

But then she would find herself twisting in her sheets at night, looking out the window and into the starry night, her eyes tired from lack of sleep. She found that her body wouldn’t sit still and she was restless, so restless, all the time, never having the strength to occupy her mind because…because…

Well.

Because her mind had already been occupied.

And not with thoughts of Greysen.

It hadn’t happened overnight. She missed pieces of Lucien day by day. She’d missed the way his red hair fell on his face and the way he’d swat it away, pulling it in a knot at the nape of his neck; she’d missed the way the skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled; she’d missed the little dips of his chin whenever he encountered her on the hallways, the way his fingers would twitch as if he was containing himself not to touch her.

Sometime later, she found her fingers had been doing the exact same thing: reaching for him, wanting nothing but to cling to him, push him close to her-

It had been…difficult, to say the least, to adjust to the conflict in her mind and in her heart.

But Lucien…deep down, she had always been certain. Always known that her heart sung for him, every heartbeat a new note, creating a symphony that only he could hear. Mainly during late nights, when Lucien rested his face on her chest, his ear pressed above that heartbeat.

During those late nights she knew. Lucien was here to stay – even if her walls came tumbling down. He was here. Her mate.

She looked at him, memorizing the features she’d missed, and whispered to him, “I could barely sleep at all.”

Lucien stared and stared. At the beautiful dark eyes gazing up at him, at the longing and…love he saw there.

His heart melted for her. “Elain-“

His words got lost in his throat when Elain rolled on top of him, her arms resting on either side of his face. Gazing down at him with that hint of playfulness adorning her smile…Lucien felt full. Complete. Restored. When Elain leaned her face down to take his lips, his arms came to wrap around her frame, so small and delicate compared to his, and returned the kiss right back.

Storm clouds gathered in the sky above them, but it was Elain’s lips that made the sun shine in his mind. He let out a rough laugh at feeling her fingers entwining in his hair, and Elain smiled right back as she plastered kisses all over his face. Tender, slow kisses laced with that same playfulness that seemed natural to his mate.

When her lips traced the fine, crooked lines of his scar…Lucien’s smiled faded into something softer. Elain breathed against his skin, her lips against his jaw, loving even the darkest parts of him.

“I missed you,” she whispered again and again, as her lips came in contact with his. “I missed you so much, Lucien.”

His name on her mouth, falling from her lips-

Lucien held her close. “How have I come to deserve you?” He wondered out loud, pushing the hair back from her face, her curls tickling his neck. “How have I come to deserve this much love and happiness?”

Elain frowned slightly as she eyed him, whispering, “What are you on about?”

“I just…,” Lucien sighed, fascination in his eye as he traced every contour of her face.

“You deserve the world,” Elain said, leaning down to taste his lips. “And more.” The back of her hand came to caress his cheek and Lucien leaned into that touch, his eyes falling shut. “Do not think for one moment you are not worthy of this life, Lucien. I tell you that you are – and you shall believe me,” she grins then, touching her lips to his forehead. “For as long as we both shall live.”

Lucien opened his eyes and, at the sight of her beautiful neck stretched like that, he couldn’t resist leaning in and touching his lips to her skin. Her skin – which he hadn’t tasted in a weak.

He felt Elain close her eyes and let out a breath as his mouth trailed down her throat.

Still, Elain murmured, craning her neck to allow him space to kiss and taste and take all he wanted, “You still doubt it. After all these months…you still doubt it.”

His lips stopped.

His mind stopped.

Lucien pulled back to look at her. And Elain managed to open her eyes and gaze down at him, her hand resting on his cheek. “I love you, Lucien.”

He stayed quiet. There was worry in his good eye – worry and…and something else.

“What does this mean?” She whispered to him, her thumb coming to trace the tender skin under his eye. “What does this look mean?” Lucien started to shake his head but Elain leaned down and touched her lips to his cheek, murmuring against his skin, “Talk to me.”

He felt compelled to tell her – to say everything that had just gone through his mind. Everything that had been going through his mind all these months, whenever he awoke in the middle of the night and found Elain soundly asleep next to him. Those thoughts never overtook him long, however. Usually Elain would scoot over to him, wrapping her arms around his body, and rest her face on his chest with a faint murmur of his name during her sleep – that was enough to push away any doubt in his mind about her feelings but-

He couldn’t help it. Sometimes…the nightmares bit at him, and he had no way of erasing them.

Lucien swallowed, raising his hand to rest on her own jaw. His thumb traced her bottom lip as he said, “I don’t know if you would have fallen in love with me had this mating bond been non-existent.”

A long pause.

Enough time to give him the courage to look at her, to see Elain’s expression change into a frown. 

“Are you saying the only reason I’m in love with you is because the universe bound our souls together?”

Lucien could hear the bite in her words. He stammered, having difficulty in finding his voice. Finally, he managed to blurt out, “I never wanted you to feel shackled to me-“

“What makes you think I am?”

“I know you don’t feel that way now, Elain,” Lucien said. And the way her name came out of his mouth…Elain didn’t like that. She didn’t like to hear such sorrow in his voice. “But what if in the future you regret me? Us? What if-“

His words got trapped in his throat at the look Elain gave him. Her hands were closed in fists on either side of his head. Lucien looked away as he forced the words out, “What if you realize that you only feel this way because you and I were, for some reason, matched?” 

“For some reason?” She repeated, climbing off him. Lucien felt instantly cold without her, and felt the weight of his words sink in as she parroted them back to him, her eyebrows furrowed.

“You know what I mean.”

Elain cocked her head to the side, her lips parted as she stared at him as if she couldn’t comprehend anything that he was saying. She opened her mouth to retort – and then closed it. The sun was disappearing in the distance, taking her smile with it. Elain asked, “Did you fall in love with me the second you realized I was your mate?”

“Elain, that’s not-“

“Answer the question.”

Lucien considered it. No, no he hadn’t loved Elain. Not like he loved her now. He had felt a tug towards her, yes, something that pushed him in her direction, that willed him to care for her, to want to protect her, but-

“No, not like this-“

“And you know perfectly well I did not love you then,” she said, quite crossly. “I didn’t want to love you back then.”

He’d known it, of course, yet the words still sent a spark of pain through his chest. 

“The universe did not force me to love you,” she said quietly. “And it did not force you to love me. We fell in love with each other despite the already existing bond between us.”

Lucien stayed quiet, listening to her and watching her face change as she spoke. Elain’s voice softened then, as if looking at him made her heart ache slightly, thus softening her explanation altogether. She said to him, “I know that you and I went through a lot. And I know I wasn’t the easiest mate…,” she smiled then and he smiled too, for no other reason than the fact that her happiness was contagious. His heart grew with every word she spoke. “But I grew to love you, Lucien. I found myself craving your presence around me, little by little. I watched the sunset everyday and thought that the colours in the sky matched your eye. I warmed myself by the fire and thought that the flames resembled the colour of your hair and I knew…at some point I knew that that warmth by the fire would not compare to the warmth of your body against mine.”

He wasn’t sure he was breathing anymore.

Elain’s brown eyes searched his face. “I am not shackled. I am not forced, in any way, to love you. You made sure of it. All this time…you always thought of me first and of yourself last. Never have you made me feel obligated to be with you. I want this,” she came close to him, touched his face when he sat up. “I want you – all on my own. I want you now and I know I will want you in a hundred years. If I get to live a thousand more I will want you then.”

Lucien breathed in a shaky breath.

Soft rain fell on them, then. But neither of them moved. Not as they stared at each other, their bond brightening the night.

“Do not doubt me,” she said, crawling into his lap and taking his face between her hands. “Do not doubt us and what I feel for you. I spent months being your mate and not loving you, Lucien. The connection between us didn’t have a role where my falling for you was concerned.”

“I don’t doubt you,” Lucien whispered.

Elain saw him blinking back the tears as the summer rain fell on them, and still Elain smiled at him. She kissed the corner of his mouth, then the other. Each one of her movements gentle and so, so soft. Loving. “I love you,” she murmured as if she were singing a song under her breath between each kiss. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Lucien gripped her hips and lifted himself and Elain off the wet ground.

Elain gasped as she wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled when he squeezed her against his chest, his face wet with tears and rain. She squeezed him right back, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Elain breathed in his scent – her mate’s scent – mixed with the pouring rain and the wet flowers.

Lucien smelt like home.

He kissed her in the rain.

He kissed her for what it seemed like hours, the hot water pouring down their bodies, soaking their clothes. None of them minded, though.

He spun her in the rain. 

Elain giggled against him, her wet hair clinging to her face. Lucien pulled back enough to look at her, his face now brightened despite the clouds, despite the night, his smile as wide as the world. With one hand he held her against his chest, with the other he pushed back the strands of hair away from those beautiful eyes and cheeks and lips. He made room for his own. And Lucien kissed her again and again and again.

He took her inside.

Despite the rain their bodies were still hot from the summer day, and the house felt somehow even hotter. Lucien sat down on a stool in their kitchen with Elain still sitting on his lap.

And she told him everything that happened during the time when he was absent. Elain told him about the parties, the dinners, the conversations, the laughs and stories he missed. She told him of her sister and her own mate Cassian and how happy they looked in their new house. She told him about her nights spent in the company of the Inner Circle. Their friends. Their family.

“I still missed you, though,” Elain said, a playful smile gracing her lips. “Especially at night.”

“Oh?” 

Elain nodded, tracing the spot underneath his jaw with her nail, very gently. “I missed having your breath against my skin, your heartbeat against my back,” she let her finger travel lower to where his shirt opened in the first few buttons. “I missed waking up beside you and first morning kisses. And I missed…” Her finger popped open another button on his shirt.

She bit her lip.

Damn her. 

His mate…she was so cruel sometimes.

“What did you miss, Elain?” Lucien murmured, letting his lips touch her jaw, tracing the underside gently. His tongue swiped at her skin gently, and her taste almost drove him mad right then and there. Her lips parted and her eyes fluttered shut, but she did not answer. So he repeated, his voice almost a groan against her throat, “What else did you miss, beautiful?”

Elain shivered at the tone. With her eyes still closed as Lucien placed open mouthed kisses on her collarbones, she laughed softly. Yet there was something laced with that playfulness. Something deeper. Something-

Like want. 

Another button popped open. Tentatively, she looked at him between her lashes.

“Devilish little dove,” Lucien purred before leaning up to devour her lips.

Elain did not complain when Lucien took her into their bedroom and made her whisper his name in the darkness. Did not mention their previous conversation as he made her legs tremble time and time again, didn’t say anything but call out his name while his head was in between her thighs.

And when she finally fell asleep, cocooned and safe and happy in his arms, Lucien observed her quietly with heavy, sleepy eyelids. The parting of her mouth, the way she breathed against him, the slight curve of her lips that stayed even as she slept. As if she was dreaming of him, still.

He looked towards the pouring rain outside their window. The summer storm banged against the glass, the rain and the darkness raging to get inside.

With Elain at his side, he knew that wouldn’t happen. The sun would shine on forever.

When he was close to falling asleep himself, he felt her stir in his arms. He opened his eyes, slightly startled, only to realize that she was simply moving closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder, her parted lips touching his skin. Lucien leaned into that touch, turning his face so their foreheads rested together and their noses, too.

And as Elain mumbled his name in a sleepy, dreamy whisper, Lucien could no longer hear the sound of the rain outside. He fell asleep without doubts, without fears, and with a smile on his face.


End file.
